A Shoulder To Lean On
by HetaRussia
Summary: (Takes place after Loki finds out he's a Jotun) Returning home one night Steve finds that his apartment has been broken into and the intruder is still there. He comforts, listens, and gives advice to the very man who will soon be his worst enemy. (Also wasn't sure if it belonged in Thor or Avengers...since Cap is in it)


**HetaRussia here, and I present you with a Loki X Steve story. I think this is my favorite pairing. Only because I think Steve would be more sympathetic to him and that's all Loki really needs is someone to confide in. Enjoy.**

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Steve was returning home from the gym late one night, he did his usual rounds with stopping by the store to pick up some items for that nights dinner. He stashed the bags into the trunk of his jeep and began heading home. He pulled up into the parking lot of his apartment "Oh Steve, how are you son? Out at the gym again I see." came an elderly voice "Oh, hello Mrs. Sochat, I guess you can say that. How have you been?" he asked the elderly woman who was hovering around his vehicle, in her grasp was a gray flat faced cat, Mrs. Sochat smiled and backed up as he got out the jeep and she followed him to the trunk watching him intently as he began taking his groceries out.

"Oh, aren't you just a dear, I am fine, I went to the doctors office today, as you know I have had pains in my lower back." Mrs. Sochat said "Yeah, you told me about that, is everything alright?" the first Avenger said softly "Yeah, everything is fine, turns out I just had a bruise from falling in the yard." she said laughing. Steve looked confused "Yard? What yard?"

She smiled and said "The one at Mr. Garcia's village home silly." Steve oh'd but smiled none the less and pointed to the cat who looked like it was frowning.

"What about ol Simon here?" Steve asked taking Simon into his free arm who in return just went limp. "Oh he is fine, except yesterday he swallowed a snake whole, I was so worried I took him to the vet and I was told not to worry." The elderly woman laughed before she noticed his bags "Oh honey you have food, you should go stick them inside before they spoil, now go on, go on, good night young'un." she said before taking up the cat and scurried off into her home.

Steve sighed, relieved that she was gone. He didn't hate her, it was just...she talked too much and he didn't want to be rude telling her that she talked a lot. And to be honest...she was the closest thing to a friend he had. Steve said good night to his elderly neighbor before turning to his house and going up the steps, unlocking the door and entering the house.

Once inside he locked the door and flipped the light on, he walked to his kitchen and sat the bags down on the table, he looked around wearily, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched which was strange because he was the only on in the one in the apartment.

He shrugged it off, he had nothing to fear, he figured it was the creepy stalker girl that often watched him from the apartment building across from his, but if it was something in his home had his muscles and height whoever or whatever it is and surely they will surely flee at the sight of him.

He began unpacking his food and storing it away when he heard something that sounded like old springs creaking coming from his living room, he stood up quickly hitting his head on the fridge before he bent and backed out of the door rubbing his head.

He walked around the corner and peered into the living room, yet strangely he didn't see anything. Now Steve was starting to feel weary, he thought his mind was messing with him. He hated that he lived alone, he should really get a cat or a dog.

Then it happen, a sound that will haunt him for the rest of the night, a sniffling sound then a broken sob.

Steve was now scared he shivered as he fled to his room, yanking his shield off the dresser and reentered the living room with a deep breath he mustered enough courage to say "Show yourself! I don't want to hurt you!"

No response.

Steve was a sensible guy, and he didn't want to jump to the immediate conclusion of ghosts, he knew that SHIELD had technology that could turn you invisible, and with that knowledge he assumed it was probably Coulson in his house again, Steve didn't hate the man but he kind of creeped him out with all his knowledge on Captain America with the thought of the Agent in his home he glared and then began to swing his shield over his armchair, nothing. Then he swung it around the love-seat, nothing. Yet when he swung it over his long couch, it made contact with an solid object with a _twunk_ sound, whatever it was cried out in pain and Steve jumped back dropping his shield with a clatter.

Steve wasn't expecting that. Nor was he expecting what he saw next.

The other being suddenly became visible, it was a young man, who looked about twenty, with raven hair that was slicked back, his face was a pale as if he stayed in the shadows or in a dark room, his eyes were green and he had a narrow jawline, Steve never saw this man in his life but he couldn't help but find him handsome.

Steve studied him more, he was dressed in a black suit with a white and green scarf, but the thing that seemed to worry Steve the most was the fact his eyes, they were glassy with unshed tears and that his shoulders were shaking.

The strange man was clutching his shoulder where Steve had hit him _"I hope I didn't hurt him too bad."_ Steve thought.

Both men stared at one another before Steve approached cautiously "Who are you and why are you in my house...how did you get in here anyway?" he asked the stranger.

The man, still gripping his shoulder looked down, he paused for a moment before saying in a raw voice "I'm Loki...L-Loki Odin-Laufeyson..." the last name came out choked and full of pain. "As for what I am doing here...I-I need a safe place to stay." he said voice breaking. "As to how I got in...I-I teleported inside."

Steve was concerned that he had hurt him to point of tears but he could see in his eyes that something more was paining him. Something far more serious, something internally.

"Hey, what's wrong? I didn't hit you that hard did I? I tend to not know my own strength." he admitted as he sat near Loki. "Let me see." he said taking a hold of Loki's arm and lifted it. This caused Loki to grit his teeth in pain "Okay I think you might have a bruised you...we need to get this off." Steve said pointing at the jacket.

Loki looked at him worried but nodded, as Loki began to take his top off Steve went to go get the first aid kit out of the bathroom "Whats up with this guy, where's he from...why does he look like he's going to cry?" he mumbled.

Steve took the kit out of the cabinet and looked down at it "At least it's not Coulson. But I wonder what happen to him, maybe he's like me...from the past and suddenly thrown into the future. But only way I can really find out is if I ask him." with that said Steve closed the cabinet and walked out the restroom.

When he returned to the living room he found the pale man still in the same position as he had lift him, Steve watched him some he didn't really move aside from the short movements of lifting his hand to wipe at the stubborn tears.

Steve walked over and sat near Loki, who had now taken off the dress jacket, Steve frowned when he noticed the long sleeve white dress shirt, and the blood that bloomed on the shoulder that he had hit.

"Hey, um Loki was it? Can you take off your shirt? Your bleeding."

Loki glanced at his shoulder and ohs he tugged off his shirt and sat sadly on the couch.

Steve opens the kit and pulls out a wipe, he cleans the blood and it reveals a small but deep cut. He continues to clean up Loki's shoulder before taking up a needle and thread, the sight of the needle and thread causes Loki to gasp slightly and inch backwards.

Steve found this odd, but didn't question it. He knew everyone had their fears, he for example feared icy waters, Loki must fear needles or threads...or quite possibly both. Wanting to show the _younger_ male that he wouldn't hurt him he looked up into the sad and scared green eyes "It's okay, I'm just gonna stitch you up."

Loki didn't like the sound of that he narrowed his eyes "What wrong have I done? If it's over the fact I stored away in your meager home then please forgive me...I-I'll be taking my leave...just don't use that on me, I wish not to suffer anymore than I am!" Loki cried out his eyes flashing between madness and pain.

Steve was now confused. He didn't know what to think but he could figure out why Loki was so scared of the items he held "Someone used these to hurt you? Why would they do that?" Loki simply shuddered at the thought, the sharp pinch of the needle entering his soft lips followed by the searing pain of the rough stringy thread tearing into the hole ripping it into an even larger wound. As his shouts, pleas of mercy and forgiveness, and sobs were silenced by the thread. He remembered the blood he shed along with the tears, how he had gotten sick from infection and he wanted nothing more than to die. He remembered how everyone laughed and mocked him for he couldn't speak, eat, or drink. But it hurt the most when he remembered how Thor was so aggressive with him, how he pinned him down, he who said that he would never do anything to harm him, he who said he would protect him from harm and pain, he held him as they sown his lips.

"LOKI!"

Loki looked up and toward the man who addressed him "Pardon?" he asked his voice coming out small.

Steve frown "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

Loki shrugged "Doesn't matter..." he whispered as Steve stood and approached him "Well, it matters to me, I don't know what happen to you to make you frighten of needles but I don't want you losing...any...blood?" he trailed off confused, the wound he inflicted was now completely healed!

_"How?"_ Steve thought.

"My...my fear...it stems from my punishment." he heard Loki say "I was careless back then...I cut the hair of my brothers wife and he was furious at me...I had to go and restore her hair, so I sought help from some elves. Needless to say they had done a marvelous job, but as they were making the hair, I grew restless...and started to tease them as they worked...Once we returned home with the gifts and wig, the gifts to make amends. I might have said more that I wished...and I had my lips sown shut..." Loki explained.

Elves? Steve was wanting to question the other man but noticed that he walked over to the couch and laid down onto it with his knees drawn to his chest, the experience must have been traumatic. Steve couldn't imagine going through something like that, he shivered horribly at the image of Loki with sown lips that played in his mind.

"Will, it was only that one time...it's not like you have done other things for punishment..."Steve said trying to brighten the black haired man's mood. But the look on Loki's face when he looked up had Steve questioning who this man is and his morals.

"You faced more punishments?"

A nod.

"Are they worst than your lips being stitched?"

Another nod.

"I blame who I am! Maybe if...maybe if I was born Aesir instead of Jotun...then maybe I wouldn't be this way...Maybe if I was Aesir...if I was Aesir...I would...I..." Loki felt tears fill his eyes. "Why do I always have to suffer?! Why!? Why can't I be like Thor?!" Loki sobbed sitting up shouting out loud to Steve. Steve knew the questions were rhetorical but he couldn't help but feel bad that he couldn't answer them for Loki.

But he had his own questions "Loki, whats the difference between a Aesir and a Jotun? I am assuming they are races...and why does it matter if you're like Thor, I am also assuming he is your older sibling." he asked the other who sat sullenly.

"Aesir, are the people of Asgard. They are everything I am not. Whilst Jotuns...are from Jotunheim they are the monster parents tell their progeny...they are big ugly creatures who dwell in ice and snow. They kill because they find it amusing and thrive off the screams and cries of pain..." Loki said swallowing thickly. He paused shortly and took in a shaky breath "Thor is my older sibling, he the joy of Odin's life...he is strong, muscular, and skilled in weapons...fit to be king, the child that can do no wrong, the one that always pleases the parent. While am adopted, the one that can never seem to do right in fathers eye. I am not like Thor. I lack muscle, I lack strength, I lack skills in weapons, though I am fairly good with daggers. But what Thor lacks in brains I make up for. I am skilled in magic and tricks, but instead of praising and encouraging me, Odin sought it best to tell me to stop with magic, that only women use such thing." he hissed as his sadness turned to rage.

"He would never compliment me, he'd compare me to Thor and his friends. He would...he..." Loki fell silent as he wiped at his face. "If I was like Thor. Then maybe father would have loved me..." Loki sighed.

Steve walked over and sat by Loki, all that was a lot to take in. Aesir were basically like the models of where ever Loki came from while the Jotuns were the low-lives, the killers and creeps that you hear about on the news. If Loki was a Jotun, he must be one of the thousands to look handsome for he did say they were ugly. Steve placed a gentle hand on Loki's back causing him to quake "Don't say that...it's not true. Your father loves you." he said to Loki.

Loki growled and jumped up to his feet "If he loved me he would have told me! He wouldn't have done all those cruel punishments to me! He wouldn't have taken my children and done whatever he wished to them! He uses his own grandchild as his own personal horse! He wouldn't have told me tales of the Jotuns being monsters, he wouldn't have told me that Jotuns are to be killed on sight and that they are evil, only to just now tell me that I am a monster, that I'm evil." Loki shouted motioning with his hands as he talked, his voice starting to break as he rambled on about the Jotuns.

"He used me! He used me...I was just another stolen relic to remind him of his victory that day..." Loki now had tears running down his cheeks "He told me that he hoped to win peace through me with the Jotuns...do you know how much that hurt hearing that is the only reason why he s-save me. Not out love or concern...but as a treaty of peace. That is why I shall never rule Asgard...they don't want the throne soiled with my existence." Loki sobbed.

Steve frowned, at least he now knew what was paining him, Steve stood and walked over to the man who was desperately trying to stop his tears and he wrapped his arms around the thin other. He felt Loki stiffen and squirm, it was clear he wasn't used to contact _"Is he hated that much? Hated to the point where contact with others in a kind way is foreign to him?" _Steve thought. He had to show Loki he wasn't going to hurt him, he pulled him closer and place one hand on the back of Loki's skull and gentle pressed him closer shushing him in a soft gentle tone, the same tone a mother would to her frighten infant.

To his surprise Loki all but melted into his embrace as he buried his face into the crook of Steve's neck. "It's going to be alright. It's okay, it's okay...shh I know...I know. It's okay, I'm here...just let all out...it's okay." Steve uttered gently as Loki sobbed openly, not caring that this strange yet kind and caring man saw his breakdown. He was finally able to let go of so much bottled up pain and he wasn't going to be judged because of it.

As Loki cried he cried about all the unfortunate events of his life, how he wished he could change things about himself how he hates himself. But what hurt Steve most was what he said next.

"Th-Thor lied! H-He said he would al-always be there for me...whenever I need him...I didn't mean to get him banished...I-I just want to keep us alive...and when I need him most...he-he is gone! I have no one! Odin con-conveniently falling prey to the Odinsleep as soon a he tells me my true parentage and reasons for saving my life!" Loki sobbed as Steve continued to hold him.

Steve had to help him some how he could just leave him like this, he learned so far that he's the black sheep of Asgard and his father gets the worst father of the year award. So he had to do something, thats when an idea popped up.

"Hey, I have an idea. Why not go and do something to prove your loyalty to your father? Something that only you can do, no one else. Now, I'm not saying go and blow up the Jotunheim or whatever it's called because that could just make matters worst. You could...oh! I know, go duel the king or whatever of Jotunheim and win. Your father is bound to be proud of you."

Loki looked up "Do you think that will work?" Loki asked in a tiny voice, Steve nods and Loki looks hopeful before resting his head on Steve's shoulder suddenly overcome with exhaustion from his tears.

About an hour or so later Steve laid a Loki on the couch and pulled a blanket over him that sat on the love-seat. To his surprise the man was now a dark blue with complex lighter shade of blue markings. Tears lingered under his eyes and on his cheeks and Steve used his thumb to wipe them away. But did it quickly and swiftly to not for his blue skin burned to touch.

_"So that's what a Jotun looks like."_ Steve thought.

"Loki...I wish you the best of luck."

Loki looked up and over at the other "Thank you, for everything...you shown me kindness when no other would. Your advice I shall take and hopefully win my fathers love. And I hope we can meet again in the future...as friends."

Steve smirked "I hope so too. G'night Loki."

"Night...Captain..." Loki whispered as he closed his blood red eyes. The same eyes Steve found strangely cute, he watched as Loki's chest rose and fell in his sleep and he found it odd that the Jotun man knew his hero name. But like the other things he pushed aside he figured he saw his name somewhere or his picture.

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**Yeah! Finally finished it! **

**Review? Also my email is being a turd-muffin and won't open so I cant complete my other stories...please hang in there.**


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